History & Origins
Originally known as “Misty Valley” after the humidity that settles into the area at night, the processing station was run for many years by Abdullah Bagersh and was known as being one of the country’s best coffees available anywhere. “Misty Valley” became synonymous with Yirgacheffe specialty long before traceable coffee was available elsewhere, and was a foundational name and profile for many roasters’ programs throughout the 2000s.
This ended with the establishment of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008: anti-corruption measures designed for the new system forbid the vertical integration of coffee businesses (i.e. processors could not also be dry millers or exporters), and as a result Bagersh sold the washing station to a private company to focus on dry milling.
The buyers re-named the station simply “Aricha” after the kebele, or municipality, where it is located.
Everything is perfect for coffee here – the farmer community is experienced, the soil is fertile, the mountains and forests provide the ideal microclimate – and yet the Aricha washing station was left to decay, never reaching even a fraction of its potential.
According to the current manager, the Aricha washing station was a mess. It was neglected, abandoned and hadn’t processed a single coffee cherry in years. The whole area was overgrown with grass and weeds and the buildings had fallen into disrepair. This changed dramatically in 2018 when Faysel Abdosh saw its promise and decided to take a chance. He purchased the washing station in 2018 and spent more than a year reviving it, adding it to the long list of high-elevation washing stations he owns and operates through his trading company, Testi Coffee.
In 2019, just one year after reviving the station, four Aricha coffees made the final selection of The Ethiopian Cup.
Terroir & Growing Conditions
Located in prime coffee land (and less than 5 km from the town of Yirgacheffe), the washing station is in reach of several coffee-growing communities – Aricha, Reko, Gersi, Naga Singage, and Idido.
The Aricha washing station also has 5.2 hectares of coffee in production between 1927 and 1943 meters above sea level. The soil around the washing station is red/brown in color and fertile in organic matter. The temperature ranges from 11.38 to 25.57° C with 1525ml average annual rainfall.
The coffee was grown between 1900-2100 meters above sea level, and around 700 small holder farmers contributed their coffee to this processing station.
The high-altitude environment creates optimal growing conditions for specialty coffee production. What gives Yirgacheffe coffee its unique taste is the high altitude which makes the trees work harder to produce fruit. As a result, Yirgacheffe coffees tend to have a fuller and more developed profile.
At an extremely high altitude of 2000-2200 m.a.s.l. and naturally colder climate, the coffees are cultivated slowly in a fertile volcanic soils full of minerals and nitrogen, resulting in denser fruits and coffee seeds.
High altitude coffee is generally considered superior because the harsh conditions force the coffee plants to work harder. When the plants struggle in cooler climates, their cherries ripen more slowly, concentrating sugars and nuanced flavor compounds inside each bean. The region’s distinctive terroir combines volcanic soils, mountainous forests, and an ideal microclimate that has made this area synonymous with exceptional Ethiopian coffee.
Processing & Production
The processing site receives ripe cherries from 650 small coffee farmers, who average just 2 hectares of family farmland each.
This is one of the reasons why the people at the Aricha washing station process coffee from its surrounding communities as separate lots. Another reason for this separate processing is that it helps keep the unique flavor of each community’s coffee intact. Unlike many washing stations in Ethiopia that combine the cherries from the communities in one vicinity into one lot, this makes the Aricha station unique as its coffee can be traced back to the exact community that grew and harvested the cherries.
For washed processing, after sorting for ripeness on arrival and depulping, the coffee is fermented for 36 to 48 hours and then thoroughly washed. The washed parchment coffee is then moved to raised drying beds where it is spread in very thin layers and turned every 2 to 3 hours during the first few days while it expels the majority of its moisture. Depending on weather, the beans are dried for 10 to 12 days total until the moisture in the coffee beans is reduced to 11.5 percent.
The washing station produces both washed and natural coffee and has recently begun processing small batches of anaerobic coffee as well.
Aricha has more than 280 raised drying beds, each with its own code to control and track the processing status of each lot. Washed coffee is fermented for 36-48 hours and dried for 18 days.
Cup Profile & Tasting Notes
Aricha washing station offers complex and floral Yirgacheffe grade-1 coffees. You can either find washed or natural processed coffees. Washed Aricha coffees showcase the classic Yirgacheffe profile with remarkable clarity and sophistication. With vibrant acidity and an unapologetically sweet side, this coffee is an excellent example of a washed Ethiopian coffee in general and a Yirgacheffe coffee in particular. There are soft florals on the nose and lemon cookie on the palate, with a sweetness like dark honey that lingers throughout. However, what takes this coffee from “classic and lovely” to “complex and special” is a subtle stone fruit addition, like yellow peaches.
The natural processed offerings present a different character entirely. The coffee cherries underwent a natural process after harvest with 48 hours of dry fermentation, allowing the flesh of the fruit to remain fully intact throughout the drying process. This increased earthiness, brightness, and sweetness in the roasted product. Once we roasted it here at Lucky Goat, we noticed tasting notes of Meyer lemon, blueberry, and turbinado sugar.
This particular Aricha arrival is one of the best we’ve ever seen: it has a heady fragrance of coffee blossom and jasmine tea, invigorating Meyer lemon acidity, a rich vanilla custard sweetness, and kaleidoscopic stone fruit flavors from hot to cold. The station’s commitment to quality processing and community-specific lot separation has established Aricha as a benchmark for modern Ethiopian specialty coffee, producing cups that exemplify both tradition and innovation in the birthplace of coffee.